(Day 5, LE, Closed) Personal Lessons

[Hanzou]

With the group lesson complete and wanting to spend more time with Miuna, for a few reasons, Hanzou pulled her aside as the others departed to other activities in the camp.

"Would you mmmm like to go for a walk and talk for a bit? I've learned a lot from you, shrikt but I'd like to learn more about you."

While his earlier hunting trip had been neither productive nor pleasant, he had found a dry spot where they would have some privacy.

[Shinjo Miuna]

Miuna started at the tug of her arm and was surprised to see it was Hanzou. Aono was already ahead of her, making her way to the usual spot to hear Saruko's nightly story. She held up a finger and went ahead and brought Aono back. She signed to her sister, "May I stay and chat a while?"

Aono looked between the two of them. Then she signed, "Would you like me to stay or go?"

"Go, enjoy the stories," she signed. She smiled sweetly at her sister.

Aono smiled knowingly.This time she spoke while she signed. "Okay, but you do realize your communication will be a bit limited then, right?" She looked at Hanzou when she said it to be sure he understood there were some things Miuna might not be able to understand and that they'd have to work through it on their own. Other than that, Aono had no concerns. Miuna had proven on more than one occasion that she could take care of herself.

Miuna nodded and waited for Hanzou's response.

[Hanzou]

He nodded. "I will do my best to understand sihreet and we can come find you, if we need to."

[Shinjo Miuna]

Aono nodded. "That's true enough." She placed her hand upon his shoulder, perhaps gripping it a little more firmly than necessary but certainly not enough to cause harm. She bent slightly so she could look into his eyes. "Watch out for her, and have her back to our tent before they put out the fires." She smiled at him, and it was a knowing one. Miuna remained oblivious because her sister's back was to her. She turned and, taking Miuna's face in her hands, placed a light kiss upon her cheek, mouthed "Have fun," and proceeded to the other side of the small camp ground where Saruko's story circle was held.

Miuna stood there, draped in her blanket, studying Hanzou by the firelight. A strand of her dark hair came loose from behind her ear.

[Hanzou]

He was captivated in the moment by her visage. Firelight and shadows highlighted her beauty and he found himself reaching out to embrace her. Instead, he signed her name.

"Miuna, I'm happy we can spend some screect time together. I'm not used to being around so many people. I prefer it being just kict us."

[Shinjo Miuna]

She smiled up at him, tucking the loose stand of hair behind her ear again. He wasn't as big as other men she knew, but he was still a good few inches taller than her. She didn't mind. "I'm happy, too," she signed. If he couldn't decipher the signs, her body langauge certainly spoke the same sentiment, relaxed and fluid in its movements. She understood how overwhelming the public could be, though it generally didn't bother her. She enjoyed the bustle and flourish of a crowd. Though, she had to admit, she was thankful to have the reprieve. It meant fewer people to question the way she was looking at him. She reached out and, after slightly pulling back in a moment's hesitation, lightly touched her fingertips to the back of his hand. When he didn't pull away, she gently laced their fingers. Looking up from their joined hands with a soft expression gracing her features, her startlingly green eyes drank him in. With her free hand she signed, "walk?" by making her first two fingers mimic legs walking.

[Hanzou]

He nodded and smiled. He walked beside her, giving her hand an affectionate squeeze and guiding them towards the edge of camp, away from the others who had been watching them. Hanzou glanced at the ground as they moved through the darker areas, but focused his attention on Miuna, especially when he spoke.

"What is it like where you live?"

[Shinjo Miuna]

The landscape of the Unicorn lands consisted of vast expanses of rolling plains, grasslands and low hills, located between a trio of great lakes: in the North lied the Dragon Lake, in the South the Chrysanthemum Petal Lake, and the White Shore Lake at the eastern edge. But Miuna could hardly articulate that in a way that Hanzou would understand so she simply shrugged and signed, "Beautiful." The farther they got from the fires of the camp, the more dim and chilly it became. Soon, it would be too dark for her to properly read his lips. She held the blanket around her shoulders with one hand while they walked, her other hand still warm and snug within his.

[Hanzou]

He had taken him close to his tent, grouped with others but set a little further out. Pausing there, he quickly put few things in a pack and used the nearest fire to light a lantern.

With the pack hanging off a shoulder, he held the lantern in one hand and took hers again with the other.

He smiled. "Do you have steet forests?"

[Shinjo Miuna]

She smiled warmly, content to follow him wherever he led. She pondered his question. She didn't think they had forests, she did not recall seeing any, so she shook her head. She gently let go of his hand to sign "river," as she knew that was a sign he could recall. Lakes too, but that was beside the point. She took up his hand again. The contact was pleasant, sending little shocks to her belly and heating her cheeks.

[Hanzou]

"Rivers? A lot of kreenk water? Lakes?"

He was pretty sure Shinjo's people were in the north, not east where the ocean was supposed to be.

[Shinjo Miuna]

Miuna nodded with enthusiasm. "Un!" She said. She no longer recognized where they were, having not ventured very far from the camp during their stay here. It had grown quite cold and instinctively her body drifted closer to his. Their shoulders bumped every so often now as they walked. She grew pensive, not really sure how to communicate all that she was feeling and thinking.

[Hanzou]

"It's alright." he assured her, releasing her hand so he could wrap his arm around her. "We aren't far from chik camp. I've scouted through this area and rieeect it should be safe. The dangers are deeper in the trirrr swamp."

He led them towards a large banyan tree. The branches were large and sturdy, but near the ground, providing a dry area where they could sit.

"I live near the great kweeect forest, in a small valley, north of the mountains stecht where we started. It's beautiful, but cheeth dangerous."

He had set the lantern down on a branch and signed what he could.

[Shinjo Miuna]

Miuna glowed with pride. His signing was still very rough, but he was picking it up fairly quickly. She gently ducked from under his arm and sat beneath the tree, patting the spot next to her.

[Hanzou]

He took out a candle and used the lantern to light it before sitting down. He then took out more candles, lighting them with the first and setting them down around them, illuminating that small area. The banyan branches surrounded them, limiting how far the light could spread.

"We use candles and zicht lanterns to keep spirits away." he explained, wrapping second blanket around them both. "I'll keep you seees warm."

[Shinjo Miuna]

She loved the candles, they created a soft glow around them. She could see his mouth more clearly now, and couldn't help but wonder if his lips felt as soft as they looked. Shaking her head to chase away such thoughts, she scooted closer to him as he wrapped them up.
"Are-ee-gah-doh," she said, butchering the word terribly. She blushed and then grinned sheepishly. She never really tried to speak in front of others. Speech was cumbersome and annoying for her. But she did know some words, and Aono would tell her if she was making the sounds right or not. Though she wasn't here now, so she had no real way of knowing. She looked to Hanzou, scooching even closer and unwrapping her blanket from around herself so that he could share it with her. She tickled his forearm with her hair as she leaned over. She settled back into place beside him. She was very warm now, and not just from the two blankets. Heat was radiating from him as well, and she soaked it up.

[Hanzou]

"Ie ie." He shook his head and smiled warmly. "There's no need to mrirr thank me. This shish is a pleasure."

He lost himself in her eyes, leaning forward to press his forehead against hers.

[Shinjo Miuna]

Green mirroring green, Miuna could tell they were finished talking now which was fine by her. When their skin made contact, it sent pleasant shivers through her. Eyes still on his, she tilted her head, brushing her lips against his. When he did not pull away, she kissed him in ernest, her hands coming up to cup his face. She was relatively inexperienced though her body moved with confidence now. When they finally came away to take a breath, her eyes were dark and hooded.

[Hanzou]

He received the kiss with an awkward eagerness, revealing his own lack of experience. He lost himself in her warmth, savoring her taste and her smell, not wanting to let go. When they did pull apart, he smiled broadly. Hanzou released Miiuna for a brief moment, so he could sign.

"You're beautiful."

[Shinjo Miuna]

Miuna flushed. She couldn't say she'd never been told that before, yet there was something in the way that he signed it that conveyed his earnestness. Her smile then was genuine if not a little feline. She could not articulate all the things she wanted to in words so she simply let her body speak for her. She leaned forward, pressing herself against him and knocking them both over. She rolled until she was underneath him, surrounded by the blankets they had wrapped themselves in. She pulled him down to her, lips finding his again. Her hands traveled the expanse of his chest and then dipped lower, untying his robes. She was going to take her time exploring him.

/ftb